03/14/2012

Thesis Chapter 1 - First Language Acquisition and the Significance of Age in Second Language Acquisition or Learning

First Language Acquisition and the
Significance of Age in Second Language Acquisition or Learning

Chapter 1

Introduction

Language Aptitude is both a necessity and a significant factor not only in
the communication process but also in acquiring a wider spectrum of knowledge
and
cultural exposures. Learning a second language is a necessity; it is the
increasingly scarce affluence that is needed in the globalized world.

The innate ability of human beings
to learn the art of
communication through words has been the breakthrough that paved the way for
later advances in
human civilization. Human beings are equipped with the ability to think and
thus, the ability to learn languages. Ancient history shows that symbols and
signs were the primary communication line by our
ancestors. They attached meaning through
body language and things in their environment. However, the recognition of
sounds would be the determining factor in the formation of words and later,
languages.

Fromkin and Rodman (1998) state
that the
acquisition of language is composed by two phases: the pre-linguistic and
the linguistic. Concerning the pre-linguistic stage, there are some scholars who
have conducted research on the
transition period between pre-linguistic babbling and the holophrastic
stage (see Franklin and Barter).

In regard to the linguistic stage, Dale (1972) states that when the
child is more or less one year old, his first utterances are produced.
These utterances are hard to comprehend because they are used to express ideas,
which are complex. He calls these utterances “holophrastic speech.”

By the time the child is twenty months old, proceeds Dales, the
child begins to use utterances composed by two words. These two word utterances
are not just simple word combinations as it were the case if children were
imitating the adult speech. At this stage two different kinds of words have
been found to be common in many languages. These two kinds of words are the
pivot class and open class.

In relation to what occurs after this stage
Gass and Selinker comment that when “children move beyond the two-word stage,
speech becomes telegraphic”(2001, p. 97). The telegraphic-like utterances that
children use show some specific features. These utterances are characterized by
a lack of function words. In other words, in this stage, children use nouns,
verbs and other content words (Rodman and Fromklin).

Since children do not usually reach
the
linguistic development that follows the telegraphic stage at the very same
age, scholars base their measurement in the length of utterances used by
children. Although these utterances are longer and more complex, they are also
predictable. Gass and Selinker comment, “There are some typical stages that are
found in further syntactic development…” (p. 97). In addition, they also state
that it is necessary to mention that the linguistic development that children
undergo during these stages is also predictable.

Even though research in second language acquisition is relatively
new as compared to first language acquisition research, there is considerable
amount of research that indicates that the stages in second language acquisition
are also predictable. Romeo points out that studies conducted by Roger Brown,
Jill and Peter de Villiers indicate that there are a lot of similarities in
children’s grammatical morphemes acquisition. He also indicates that Krashen
cited studies conducted by Dulay and Burt which demonstrated that two groups of
children with different native language showed the same natural sequence for
acquiring grammatical morphemes when learning English as a second language
(2002).

On the other hand, the word interlanguage was used by Lary Selinker
who recognized that L2 learners create a linguistic method that comes from the
first language, but is not equal to it or to the target language (Ellis, 1997).
This concept is characterized by a series of premises in the acquisition of
second language. These premises, other aspects related to them, the importance
of input in L2 and the treatment of errors would be analyzed in details in my
thesis.

Research concerning brain-language relations will be examined. My
analysis will mainly focus on the theory of the lateralization of the brain and
its implication for second language acquisition. In order to examine the
process of lateralization of the brain and its relation to L2 acquisition, it is
necessary to analyze the hypothesis that has caused so much controversy in
relation to the L2 acquisition of adults and children, the “critical period
hypothesis.”

The concept of the critical period was first used by biologists and
became popular with ethologists and their studies of animals like geese and
chicks. Renfield and Robert (1959) introduced this idea into the realm of
language learning. According to them, the critical period is complete around 9
to 12 years old. After this period having the competence of a native speaker in
a language different from ones’ own language is very hard.

Equal to first language learners, second language learners
experience a silent period. Ellis comments that some learners of a second
language, especially very young learners, experience a “silent period”. In
other words, they do not try to speak when they start their learning process.
Obviously, they can probably be acquiring a great amount of information about
language simply by reading or listening to the target language. This stage
probably functions as a phase of transition for further production (1997).

This research shall examine some theories and
findings related to the field of first and second language acquisition. The
theoretical debate will be discussed in lieu with the findings that is related
with age as a factor in the acquisition of a second language. In the first part
of this work, the most relevant stages in first language acquisition are
analyzed. Furthermore, the phases that characterize the acquisition of a second
language will also be studied in order to determine its similarities and
disparities with first language acquisition. Finally, issues concerning the
acquisition of a second language in pre and post puberty ages will be thoroughly
examined to determine their correlation with second language learning problems.

This
proposed study will utilize the Universal Grammar theory, which shows the
relationship of age and language acquisition in order to provide the background
on the understanding of how age affects language capabilities.

Conceptual
Framework

This study will utilize the model
of Universal Grammar to explore, explain and analyze the dynamics of the second
language acquisition in relation to age. This paradigm would serve as the guide
in the breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of second language acquisition
on certain specified ages. Consequently, the theoretical debate on the kind of
strategies that would be most efficient and the age that would be best suitable
in learning the language will be evaluated.

Lust, Suner and Whitman (1994) posited the
use of the Universal Grammar theory or the UG theory in order to explain the
process of language acquisition, the factors that affect it and the intervening
variables. The UG Theory reflects the convergence between developments in
linguistic theory and developments in the study of natural language acquisition.
This convergence has long been motivated by the linguistic theory of Universal
Grammar (UG), a theory under which both (1) and (2) hold (Lust, Suner and
Whitman, 1994):

(1)UG is "a general
theory of linguistic structure that aims to discover the framework of principles
and elements common to attainable human languages; this theory is now often
called 'universal grammar' "

(2)"UG may be regarded
as a characterization of the genetically determined language faculty. One may
think of this faculty as a 'language acquisition device' "

There are two critical aspects of current
research in the UG paradigm that, together, characterize the specific thrust of
this collection of papers and the source of much of its current energy: (a) the
deliberate cross-linguistic aspect, and (b) the confrontation of real
development in first language acquisition (Lust, Suner and Whitman, 1994). In
spite of this fundamental motivation, however, scholarship directed to a
convergence between linguistic theory and actual first language acquisition has,
until recently, been limited to the work of only a few scholars and their
students. There were several apparent reasons for this divergence. Linguists,
lacking adequate methodology or theory for studying development, often tended to
dismiss an endeavor that would require scholarship in the area of language
acquisition (Lust, Suner and Whitman, 1994)

Concurrently, as linguistic theory developed (growing in both technical
precision and complexity, changing more quickly as time went on), psychologists,
often lacking adequate methodology or theory in the area of linguistics, tended
to avoid more and more any study of first language acquisition that involved
linguistic theory (Lust, Suner and Whitman, 1994)

Statement of the Problem:

This study will attempt to answer the following questions:

1.What are
the processes involved in the acquisition of first and second language?

2.How are
they similar and different from each other in relation to the factors,
requirements and barriers that the process encounters?

3.How does
age affects the acquisition of the first and second language? Using age
bracketing, how does age affected the language acquisition in terms of
proficiency (reading and writing)?

4.What are
the effects of other factors, variables and barriers in language acquisition?

5.What are
the issues concerning the
acquisition of a second language in pre and post puberty ages and how is it
related to second language learning problems.

6.How
potent is age in determining language aptitude among different age brackets?

Hypothesis

This study attempts to prove the following null hypothesis:

1.There is
a significant correlation between age and second language acquisition

2.There is
a negative relationship between age and the second language acquisition

3.
Conversely, the higher the age of a person, the lower the possibility that
he/she will learn a second language

Scope and
Delimitation

This study
will tackle the relationship between second language acquisition and how it is
affected by age. Further, it shall provide the background on the understanding
of how first and second language is acquired and how they are similar/different
from each other. The factors that will be outlined will serve as the bases of
the analysis on the probability of second language acquisition. Further, age
will be analyzed and how it had affected the language acquisition process. A
comparative study of age vis a vis second language adeptness will be done to
find out their relationship and to effectively analyze the extent to which age
affects language acquisition.

This study
will be limited to the above-mentioned date. The review of literature will only
cover data and studies on the United States alone. This study will only draw
conclusions from the findings on US respondents and any attempt of
generalization may/may not be applicable to other societies because of several
factors.

Significance
of the Study

This study is an attempt to illustrate the significance of age as an intervening
factor in the second language acquisition. This will also be an informative
guide for students, professors and language enthusiasts on the age variable in
language and how it is being utilized to meet language acquisition goals.
Further, this analysis will be an additional literature on the current
theoretical debate on the framework that should be used in analyzing language
acquisition.

Definition of Terms

Language-
it is a finite system of sound units, which are combined according to a certain
order (a syntax) in order to form an infinite amount of information; it is an
arbitrary system of symbols; a word is arbitrarily linked to an object

Language acquisition-
all languages have terms for actions and descriptive terms that must be combined
together; the meaning of the phrase depends on the way the words are assembled;
the meaning of a phrase may be preserved even if the word order is changed (for
example the passive form).